Top Scholar

Chapter 282 Little Sanyuan

"Wow! Chun-ge'er is third again?!" The eldest aunt grabbed her younger sister's hands tightly, almost fainting with happiness. "Our Chun-ge'er is a scholar now? Hahaha! I can finally be a mother-in-law!"

"Yes, our ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke!" The aunt struggled to break free but could not, so she had no choice but to give up and said, "From now on, you can walk around Hejiang with your head held high!"

"Wouldn't that turn them into crabs?" The aunt said, wiping away tears of joy. "We can't act like tyrants in our family."

"Yes, we must not forget our roots." The proprietress took the old lady's arm and reported the day's results to her in encrypted language.

The old lady beamed with joy, clapping the proprietress's hand and saying, "My dear girl, you're truly a lucky star for the Su family! When will you do this good deed?"

"Mother, now is not the time to talk about this," the landlady said softly, blushing. "We'll take care of it when we get back."

"Great! Great! We've got two wedding banquets to attend!" Jin Bao'er clapped her hands excitedly and asked Xiao Tiantian, "Are you happy, sister?"

"Of course I'm happy." Xiao Tiantian held Dongge'er in one hand and Xibao'er in the other. The adults were all out of control today, so she had to keep an eye on the children.

~~
Su Youjin rewarded the two constables with a full ten strings of cash for the red case, which was enough for them to carry it.

But he didn't feel bad at all, and even prepared an extra ten strings of cash!

He asked the profusely thankful messenger, "Our Su Lu was the top scholar in the prefectural examination, and should have passed by now, so why hasn't anyone come to deliver the good news?"

"Don't worry, Lord Su, how could the prodigy Su not pass?" the messenger said with a smile. "It's just that his ranking is a bit special. His grandfather will come to congratulate him personally later."

"What? The Prefect is coming?!" The Su family was stunned. They had never had such a high-ranking official visit them before.

"What...how are we supposed to receive them?" The eldest aunt was completely at a loss. Feeding a hundred people was no problem, but receiving a prefectural governor was a first for her. "I don't even know where anything is, how am I supposed to prepare?!"

"I don't know either..." the proprietress said apologetically.

"Madam, Second Madam, don't panic, I've got you covered!" A calm, bubbly voice rang out, and Steward Tian arrived promptly with a group of people from the county government, carrying incense, candles, tea sets, tea snacks, red carpets, tables, and chairs.

The eldest aunt naturally recognized Steward Tian, ​​who had taken such good care of their whole family. Upon hearing this, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's wonderful! Thank you so much, Steward Tian. I'll get the meal ready right away."

Having said that, he led the female general to get busy, but then he heard Steward Tian laugh:

"Don't worry about the luncheon either. Lao Hu and his men are already busy in the kitchen—four tables of abalone and shark fin banquets, and four tables of sea cucumber and fish maw banquets. The banquet will start promptly at noon!"

"Oh my, Steward Tian is so thoughtful!" This time, not only Auntie, but the whole family expressed their gratitude to Steward Tian.

"Master and Madam, you are too kind. Today is a joyous occasion for our family. You should simply enjoy yourselves and entertain our guests. Leave everything else to me. If anything goes wrong, I will be held responsible!" Steward Tian said confidently.
"No one in Luzhou City knows how to entertain guests better than me!"

"Thank you so much, Steward Tian is a real lifesaver!" The whole family was extremely grateful. With the county government steward taking care of things, what was there to worry about?
~~
As expected, Steward Tian was quite capable. In the blink of an eye, the stone slabs in the Su family courtyard were polished to a shine by the well water.

An incense table was set up in front of the main hall, with red silk covering the surface. On it were a three-legged bronze incense burner, a pair of tin candlesticks, and fruits and snacks neatly arranged on a plate.

He had already explained the reception process to his family and set up tables, chairs, and tea in the courtyard for his grandfather's entourage to rest.

When the messenger announced for the third time that his grandfather was about to arrive, he asked the whole family to come out to the door to greet him.

Then all the messengers gathered into a procession, playing music and making a great commotion, and came from the street corner, their music several times louder!
Two clerks in brand-new uniforms carried a plaque covered with red silk, followed by the prefect's entourage, who held up signs with the words "Silence" and "Avoidance," as well as plaques bearing the official titles of "Prefect of Luzhou," "Imperial Consultant," and "Two-Rank Jinshi" (both listed in the highest imperial examinations). They led a large blue sedan chair carried by four men into Zhuzi Lane.

The crowd of onlookers was enormous, completely blocking Zhuzi Lane. The scene was reminiscent of last year when they were announcing the good news to Zhu Chuanlu...

Officials linked arms and struggled to keep the people out of the old ancestral procession, so that the sedan chair could finally land steadily in front of the Su family's gate.

Su Dacheng hurriedly led his children and grandchildren to respectfully welcome his great-grandfather to the sedan chair.

"Haha, everyone, no need for formalities." The sedan bearers lowered the sedan poles, and the attendant lifted the curtain. Prefect Jia, dressed in a fifth-rank official's robe, stepped down from the sedan with a broad smile and bowed to the old man to offer his congratulations.

"Congratulations to Old Master Su! Your grandson, Sun Su, has once again won first place in the Grand Master Examination! Combined with his previous first place in the prefecture and county, he has achieved an unprecedented feat of becoming the 'Triple Crown' in the history of our prefecture!"

Wow, amazing! No wonder he's the prodigy Su!

"Many thanks to the Grandmaster for his guidance, and I am honored by the old master's high regard..." Although the old man was already mentally prepared, he was still so excited to hear the prefect say it in person that he was so excited that he became incoherent.

“Ah, we were just selecting officials fairly. Your grandson’s ability to achieve the triple crown is entirely due to his own skill!” Prefect Jia said, waving his hand. “The prefecture specially commissioned a plaque to commend him!”

Two bailiffs then carried the plaque covered with red silk forward.

Prefect Jia invited the old man to join him as they slowly unveiled the red silk.

Amidst the deafening sound of firecrackers, four large golden characters on a plaque made entirely of nanmu wood caught the eye: 'Triple Victory'!
However, this was the back gate, and such an important plaque could not be hung on this gate. So the clerk, following the guidance of Steward Tian, ​​carried the plaque into the courtyard and temporarily placed it on the incense table.

Su Dacheng hurriedly invited his grandfather and Feng Muyou inside for tea, while the other attendants also made their own arrangements.

The onlookers, however, were reluctant to leave, all wanting to share in the joy of the "Little Three Scholars" (a traditional Chinese festival).

Seeing this, Su Youjin simply ordered his men to break up all ten strings of cash and distribute them to the people in front of the gate.

This money was originally intended as a reward for the messenger, but since the prefect himself came, it was clearly not enough.

Fortunately, the Su family is not what it used to be; they can easily pull out another hundred or eighty taels of silver...

~~
Hall.

After serving tea, Prefect Jia smiled and said, "I heard that Zhuzi Lane is shining brightly today, with eight scholars emerging. Why don't you all come in and meet them?"

The eight newly appointed scholars, Su Youcai, Su Man, Su Lu, Su Dan, Lin Zhihong, Qiao Feng, Cheng Wanzhou, and Wang Chong, went up together to pay their respects to the ancestral master.

Prefect Jia asked them in turn about their names, their studies, and their family situations. He then offered them words of encouragement and ordered that each of them be given a set of official robes, a set of ancient books, and twenty taels of silver for their living expenses.

He then praised the old man highly, saying, "It's truly remarkable that a son, two grandsons, and a grandnephew all started school on the same day! Even among prominent families, this is extremely rare!"

"Hahaha..." The old man was grinning from ear to ear. "I don't know what happened, I couldn't pass any of the tests before, but this time I passed them all."

"This is about reviving your Su family's honor!" Magistrate Jia said with a smile, then encouraged the four members of the Su family, "Take the 'Three Sus' as your role models and continue to work hard to restore the glory of your ancestors!"

"Yes, we will keep our ancestor's teachings in mind!" the four scholars of the Su family hurriedly replied in unison.

"I'm not worried about others." Governor Jia even pointed at Su Youcai and said, "Brother, you must continue to work hard and not be complacent with a little wealth."

"Yes, student will certainly continue to work hard." Su Youcai hurriedly replied, secretly admiring the magistrate's words. "The magistrate is indeed a magistrate; he knows exactly what I'm thinking..."

After offering seats to the scholars, Su Lu bowed and thanked them separately.

"Well done, Hongzhi!" Prefect Jia looked at the composed young man and exclaimed from the bottom of his heart, "Your achievement as a Junior Triple Scholar is truly hard-won!"

"It's all because of the Grandmaster, the Ancestor, and my parents' misplaced affection," Su Lu said calmly, though he was very happy.

“Ah, Hongzhi, you are mistaken.” Prefect Jia shook his head and said, “Old Yin and I don’t have any misplaced affection for you, but true love!”

He then smiled at the old man sitting beside him and said, "You may not know this, but during the county examination, Magistrate Lu only looked at your grandson's paper and appointed him as the top scorer. At first, I thought he was too hasty, but during the prefectural examination, I only looked at one of your grandson's drafts and appointed him as the top scorer, even faster than Magistrate Lu!"

"Hahaha!" Everyone burst into laughter.

"Su Lu is that amazing?" The old man was deeply shocked, even though he didn't quite understand.

"Of course he's amazing! He's the first person in Luzhou to achieve the highest honors in the imperial examinations, even rarer than a 'Junior Scholar' (举人)." Prefect Jia said with a hint of regret.
"Actually, we were supposed to be the first in Sichuan, but unfortunately, not long ago, the famous prodigy Yang won first place in Chengdu."

"Is Yang Shen the same person as Yang Shen?" Even the old man had heard of Yang Shen's great name.

"Yes," Magistrate Jia said with a smile, "Now the old man knows how rare this 'Little Three Scholars' is, right?"

He then smiled at Su Lu and said, "My next requirement for you is no longer simply passing the imperial examination. Let's try our best to get the top score in the provincial examination, okay?"

Su Lu smiled wryly and said, "I can only say that I will do my best, but there are many experts in Sichuan. I might even run into the prodigy Yang. My ancestor, please don't have too high hopes."

"I wouldn't have said that if it weren't for Yang Shen," Prefect Jia said with a meaningful smile. "If you're going to win, win against the strongest one. That's the kind of spirit that the Little Three Champions of Luzhou should have!"

"Yes, student will keep in mind the teachings of my ancestor." What else could Su Lu say? He thought to himself, "I haven't even gotten arrogant yet, but my ancestor has become ridiculously arrogant."

Whether out of concern for Su Lu or to avoid trouble, Prefect Jia could not tell him about the hardships behind the provincial examination.

He could only smile and say, "In any case, if you encounter him someday, don't be intimidated before the battle even begins. Remember that you are not representing yourself, but all the scholars of Luzhou!"

"Yes!" Su Lu replied solemnly, feeling a heavy responsibility on his shoulders.

"I'll give you another gift personally," said Prefect Jia, taking out a document from his sleeve and handing it to Su Lu.

(End of this chapter)